Gaming Generations :: Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Fungo · Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:25 pm Post subject:

RATCHET AND CLANK FUTURE: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION

Publisher: SCEA, Insomniac Games , SCE/WWS
Release Date: 10/23/2007
Genre: 3D Platformer
Number of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+
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Overview

Once in a great while a remarkable game franchise comes along putting a never-to-be forgotten impact on the gaming world, improving on every installment thereafter. Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is one of the best games to hit a gaming console since Super Mario Bros., and, I must admit, rivaling in every way to the greatness â€“ maybe not so much the popularity. Quickly, I fell in love with the unforgettable characters and hooking storyline, although the story can get quite overwhelming. RCF:ToD proves that variation in the gameplay, and less repetition, is an absolutely necessary gameplay ingredient that a true masterpiece must have. I am still astounded by the sheer number of weapons, amount, complexity, and replayability of levels, and the graphics that are on par with a Pixar animation. Everything about this game screams â€œsuccessâ€ and â€œSony masterpiece.â€ It is as if you took the addictive gameplay elements from Kingdom Hearts (such as collecting orbs after enemy fights, the Gummi ship, the Arena, and the immense desire to go back through levels you played already) and fused it together with a little Super Mario Galaxy (the sheer creativity of the levels and puzzles).

STORY

Let's talk a little about the story. This is the sixth game in the series. There is story jam-packed into everything that goes into this game and it can appear as quite overwhelming. It has such a Sci-Fi theme, that I find it a bit difficult to follow the names of characters and planets. Emperor Tachyon is the last remaining Lombax, that seemingly just wants to be liked despite his takeover of the universe, that is the villain of the game. He is the last remaining of his species, which is the only reason for his takeover. You play as the trademarked Ratchet and Clank, that happened to be fixing their spacecraft as the invasion begins. The returning Captain Qwark appears before them and asks them for help in defeating "a few thousand heavily armed robotic commandos" that have just invaded the city. That is basically how it all begins. The dialog and voice acting is as believable as a high budget animated cartoon would be. Ratchet is a cute, furry little animal, a mechanic from the blackwater planet Veldin and has a carefree attitude. Clank is the robotic sidekick that sits on Ratchet's back, serving several purposes. Clank is a more down-to-earth, over-analytical character that seems to compliment Ratchet's personality well. The story can be very intriguing and humorous, but can lose you quickly.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay is amazing. There are so many levels of variety built in that you just do not want to set the controller down â€“ who knows what may happen next? I can say I am not biased, and have not played a single Ratchet and Clank game all the way through, so to returning players, this may be a bit of the same-old formula. You get a few weapons to begin with, but can quickly build your collection of weapons to around 24 of them. Each weapon you collect is more amazing than the last. You start off with a weapon called the â€œMagma Combusterâ€ that is similar to a handgun, you eventually collect the â€œFusion Bombâ€ - grenade, â€œLightning Ravagerâ€ - an electrical whip, â€œGroovitronâ€ - a disco ball that makes every enemy dance, temporarily distracting them, â€œShard Reaperâ€ - shotgun, and (my favorite) the â€œPredator Launcherâ€ - that shoots off several missiles at a variety of targets, just to name a few. The best part of all this is that you can collect Raritanium from exploring the levels and killing enemies in special ways to spend on upgrading ammo count, amount of damage, area of damage, amount of shots, and more, but the best part is that every weapon has a â€œspecialâ€ upgrade that enhances its capabilities. Not only do the weapons upgrade this way, but they upgrade from V1 â€“ V5 just through normal use, each version better than the last, and the final version changing the weapon completely. Never did I want to go back to my old weapon. Needless to say, I was very happy with the upgrades. I must say the â€œLightning Ravager V5â€ is the most useful weapon in the game as its color changes to red, and the damage goes up. When you attack an enemy with this, an electrical shock will attack the enemy next to it, and will have a domino effect all around you, killing a swarm of enemies in one shot. Of course, just like in the other games, you have your standard melee attack with a giant ratchet which cannot be upgraded and is really only good if you run out of ammo or an enemy is getting too close, or breaking open boxes.

Enough about weapons, let's talk about the enemies. There is an amazing variety of enemies, all different depending on which planet you are on â€“ and it is just funny to use the â€œGroovitronâ€ just to watch all of their different dance moves (snake-like creatures do â€œthe wormâ€ and four-legged enemies get up and start dancing on two legs). The enemies all have their own, unique attacks, noises, animations, and so on. They are designed with so much life. When you kill an enemy you collect Bolts which help you buy weapons, armor, and ammo. You may find yourself with so many bolts you will not know what to do with them as they are plentiful. Bolts and Raritanium both draw towards you as if there is a strong magnetic force and it beats running around collecting stationary coins (no offense Mario fans). There isn't a more positive feeling than when you destroy a group of enemies or smash a tower of boxes to have thousands of bolts rushing towards you.

The game is that of a basic platformer, but with more open levels. Rarely you will find puzzles that tap into your brain, but that is the sweet charm of RCF:ToD â€“ just about anyone can pick up the controller and play. There are many planets you must visit throughout the game all ranging to tiny (the best and most fun planet, similar to SM Galaxy, is unfortunately the smallest one too) to very large, all of it can be scoured without a break in gameplay and the design is impressive.

There are many different modes of gameplay, whether you're swimming, flying, surfing, playing as Clank, driving, free-falling, or whatever it may be. This game has it all when it comes to variety. Similar to Kingdom Hearts (but not as customizable) there is a space shooter break between some planets which is short and fun while it lasts. I am not too fond of the weapons attached to the ship, and I do not see why I cannot upgrade them seeing as this game is based around combat and destruction - and you can upgrade just about everything else. Also similar to Kingdom Hearts, you will find an Arena in which you can return to several times for different challenges. There, you earn bolts for completing fun mini challenges, and can also spend a lot of time upgrading your weapons.

CONTROLS

the controls are what set this game apart from other platformers. Look at Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider on the PS1, with frustrating controls that have you cursing the polygonal characters' mothers. RCF:ToD does not have any problems or glitches with controls whatsoever. The characters do what you want, when you want, with no delay or break in the animation â€“ you won't be screaming â€œwhy didn't he jump?!â€ You will be very pleased with the controls.

The X button is jump, R2 is duck, X + R2 is high jump, Circle and R1 is fire, Triangle brings up your intuitive weapon switch menu which pauses the gameplay, Square is melee attack, L1 zooms in and puts a crosshair on the screen for manual aim, left stick is to move, and the right stick moves the camera. The controls are fairly simple, but the action is not. Also, I must note that your sidekick, Clank, sits on your back and provides spinning helicopter-like blades so you can soar and make long jumps. SIXAXIS has been implemented well and is usually used during the game's large variety of minigames. You will use the SIXAXIS to steer Ratchet when he is equipped with robotic wings, and, even greater, you can use the Decryptor to launch a hacking minigame that is unlike anything I've played. The Decryptor minigame requires you to move the controller as you are moving a plane with a electrical ball on it. You must direct the ball to meet between two connectors as a small electrical charge makes its way through the circuit, the corresponding connection the electrical ball creates allows the charge to successfully make it to the end of the circuit. SIXAXIS has been implemented flawlessly and help add to the variety of gameplay although if you fail enough times using the SIXAXIS they do give an option to turn it off and use the Left Stick, which seems to work a lot better most of the time (a bit more accurate). Unfortunately, like in a lot of these types of games, your character cannot swim on the outskirts of the level and you can drown, but fortunately the game is more forgiving, you have three chances to jump out of the water before you drown which allows for less frustration. It is little things like this that add to the greatness of the game.

GRAPHICS

What can I say other than â€œamazingâ€? The graphics are on par with a Pixar animation and that is no joke. The graphics are the best I've seen on the Playstation 3 yet, given that they are stylized like a cartoon. There is detail in the textures where it isn't even needed, the characters act with real emotion, and the levels are designed like a canvas painting. I have never seen as much activity in a game at one time, most levels are thriving with life as animals and vehicles are flying high above. The lighting effects are great and add to the already evident realism of the game. The explosions and effects are all perfectly planned and add to the blazing action. Perhaps the graphics do not shine so bright in some areas, as grass can look fake and some textures appear bland. I haven't experienced the game in high definition, but it does support 1080p, which is just amazing.

Hands-down, the game has the best sound design in a PS3 game. I am continuously pulled into the world of Ratchet and Clank with the great 5.1 surround. There are so many different sounds to hear. The voice acting is wonderful. The sound of bolts hitting the ground is the most satisfying thing to hear.

REPLAYABILITY

There's tons of replayability built into this enormous game. You will find yourself searching out Leviathan souls and the super-rare Gold Bolt. Leviathan Souls can be found by defeating certain enemies and can be traded in for bolts, or devices while Gold Bolts are hidden in hard-to-find places all over the maps. Gold bolts can be used in the main menu to purchase Skins, so you can be a Snowman, or one of the other many characters in the game.

You can acquire something similar to Xbox Live's achievement system called Skill Points. You must complete certain tasks that are unlisted in the menu, but a pop-up will tell you that you have gotten a SP, accompanied by the title of it. After collecting enough Skill Points, you later unlock Cheats, such as Big Head Mode and more. You can also unlock a video gallery and concept art gallery all found in the Extra option.

Not only do Skill Points and Gold Bolts bring the average gamer back for more, but the sheer amount of replayability in the levels will. You may find yourself going back to the Arena to brush up on your skills, or replaying a previously played level to use a device you recently acquired. The minigames found throughout are enthralling and will hook you just as the bolt collecting did for me.

SUMMARY

So that wraps it up. This is the best thing to happen since Super Mario Bros. and it's a Sony franchise too. The sound and graphics are the best on the system. The levels are fun to explore and full of detail. The weapons are awesome and highly destructive, hence the name Tools of Destruction. There is a ton of replayability and you will be wandering levels just for the brilliantly fun combat, and to collect bolts. The story is a bit â€œout there,â€ but is still pretty upbeat and interesting. If there is one game that you must own for the PS3, this is it, and if you don't own it now, then you are severely missing out. Period.

SUMMARY

---PRESENTATION
Great-looking menus and intuitive design.
---STORY AND SETTING
You can travel through space from planet to planet. The story is great, but can lose you due to the overwhelming amount of it.
---GRAPHICS AND SOUND
They both are amazing, on par with a Pixar animation.
---GAMEPLAY
The best platformer to date, hands-down, with an explosive arsenal of weapons.
---CONTROLS
Flawless and forgiving.
---REPLAYABILITY
You will be going back for more and more and more.

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Pictures courtesy of GameSpot.com
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FUNGO
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